We had the good fortune of connecting with William Sterling and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi William, is there something that you feel is most responsible for your success?
I think, for me, what’s really made my projects land have been the people that I’ve worked alongside. I’ll start with a concept that’s rough, and ugly, but it’s there, and then I’ll start to get feedback from so many other people, and every voice has lent some layer of polish to what I’m working on, until we end up with something that actually, finally, hopefully, has some shine to it.

Book-wise, I’ve been lucky to work with some great publishers and editors, like Kristina Osborn, at Truborn Press, who was able to take my PUNK goes HORROR anthology idea, and who dressed that concept up with the COOLEST cover and interior design work possible.

Screenplay-wise, it was Andrew Burn, and the Apex Film Collective, who took my short film, CANDY, and who ran a production that was professional, and fun, and who helped everybody on set to lean into the Goosebumps-ey aspect of things in some brilliant ways.

But in every pursuit, I’ve benefitted from people who I trusted rounding out some amazing creative teams, and I think that’s made all the difference for me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I’m a horror author!

Inspired by Goosebumps and James Wan and Wes Craven, I like writing “popcorn flick” horror that’s big, and splashy, with goofy characters who you can’t wait to see get killed in horrible ways, and weird monsters that are meant to noodle on your imaginations.

I’ve been in the game for almost a decade now and, no, it hasn’t been especially easy, but it’s always been fun. I started out knowing absolutely nothing about story structure, or publishing, or show/don’t tell. The first things I wrote were pure garbage, and I was appropriately put on blast for them. But with each story written, and each lesson learned, I think I’ve gotten better and better to the point where, now, I’m comfortably in love with what I’m doing and how I’m doing it.

I think I’m most proud of the anthology which I just edited, called PUNK goes HORROR. I got to work with a slew of amazing friends and artists, including USA Today Best Selling Author Rachel Harrison, CLASH books publisher Christoph Paul, and others, to put out 15 horror stories inspired by 15 punk, or punk adjacent songs. It’s rebellious. It’s horrifying. It’s got a fierce, necessary message at its core, and I think it’s a great example of everything I want to be putting into the world

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’re going to start northside and then we’re going to work our way south! Atlantic Station for a quick lunch and then a showing of *whatever horror movie is playing currently*. We’d chase that with some chili dogs and frosted oranges at the Varsity, then Marta our way down to the Benz for an Atlanta United game to end the night (Miggy is back!).

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
There are way too many people to count. Like I mentioned- Kristina Osborn and Truborn Press, Andrew Burn and Skyframe Entertainment. But there are also mentors and friends like James Sabata, DC Phillips, Clayton Nix, and Trevor Williamson. There’s, of course, home base- my wife Jessie, and my two kids. They don’t do much beta reading or anything for my stories (yet, haha), but they all work together to carve out a few hours here and there for me to ‘do my thing,’ and without their sacrifices, none of these stories get to the printers or the screens. I love, and appreciate them all so much.

Website: https://thewilliamsterling.wixsite.com/main

Instagram: @spooky_sterling

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-sexton-a3659547/

Other: Bluesky: @spookysterling.bsky.social

Image Credits
Bloody Author Photo and CANDY Scarecrow still- Andrew Burn at Apex Film Collective

Book Covers- Kristina Osborn at Truborn Press and Art/Design

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